Current meter



W. G. PRICE.

CURRENT METER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.I9, |920- 1,413,355.4 Patented m18, 1922.-

. character by providing'the instrumentwith bearings having small. and constant friction,"

WILLIAM e; PRICE, or YAKIMA, lwasnINGToNl To illicit-mettete?) 0o-uomini? Be it known lthat LVILLIAM G. PRICE, a citizen of the United `States, and resident of Yakima, in the county of Yakima and.

St-ateof lVashington, have invented a new and useful Improvement iu Current Meters; and I do hereby declare thefollowingto be a full, clear, andj exact-description thereof.

Y Y.' My invention relates to currentmeters for use in measuringthe flow'ofstreams and for similar purposes and it has for' its objectto Improve the accuracy of instruments of this and by effectively protecting the bearingsV 4from contact with water,l dirt or other 4foreigln substances.

the construction.. heretofore*l employedfor Acurrent-flow metersthat depend for their operation upon the rotation of a'spindle, the bearings of the spindle have been imperfectly, protected from Vcontact with the iiuid that is being measured, and in the lmeasurement of. turbid streams the accuracy ofv the j instr'ument Visoften impaired Aby grit Vand dirt carried into the bearings by the water.

This increases the friction between thev moving .parts and vso causes thelinstrument to read incorrectly, and may damagethebearing surfaces and Wear away the electric Vcontact members byV means of ywhich the rotationsof thespindle are'counted.- lhebea-ring at the upperendofthe vertical spindle hasbeen so mounted that it can moveV ver-r tically during its rotationand this is another source of inaccuracy because the area of frictional contact inthe bearings is thereby changed, with corresponding change in the amount of friction, especially `if gritand dirt are resent..

Accor ing .to myfpresentinventionl provide the'rotating spindle with upper' 'and' lower bearings oft-lieinvertedfcup. type, both -of these-V bearings Vbeing' disposed within sleeves or tubeswhich are so arranged that' whenzthe instrument lis immersed in water,

fthe water cannotpenietrate tothe bearing surfaces. A

In. the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a Side view, partly in elevation and part-ly in vertical section, showing an instrument constructedin accordance with my invention;

Fior. 2 is a plan view of the instrument shown tFig 1; Fig. 3 is a' vertical sectional vie-w through the lspindle audits associated parte Application filed August 19, 192). Serial No. 404,697.

justed position". v Y J of the lspindle 2 above Vthe lcups '3v vextends into an opening 15 formed Vatfthe 'lower end of a' bearing member 416 v -thatgis vst :rew-threaded on its Youter-[surface CURRENT METER. 1

y Yspeducation of Letterrsratenit. Panted and Fig. L Vis 'an enlarged Ivertical vsection"al view similar to'Fig. 3, butshowinga moldi.Vr

ied form of spindle construction. Y

The instrument ls hown inthe drawing comprises ay vertical spindle 2cfarrying aset of cups 3 `and Vsupported Hin bearings' infa forked supporte thatalso carriesafset of vanes 5.. Thesupport 4 is pivotally secured toa'flat` rod or hanger 6 to the lower .endV

Aof which is securedl a cigarshaped-v weight 5T, while the upper end fof the hanger" is adapted to be suspended froin 'a rope or other suspension means 8.A The general (construetion; thus far. described is Acommonly emi ployed-in currentflow .meters and jishere shown toillu'stra't'el the VVdetails of my invenof the bearings foi-this spindle.

The lower end o f thesp-indle is yprovided witha tubular opening 9 drilled len` hwise in theaxis of thesp'indle` and 'provided 'at its inner or upper end with Ya conicalbeari-ng seat 10 which rests upon theconicalzupper end lof a bearingpin :11, thelower end'of is received nut- 12 `carried bythelower armof thesupport i and adapted'to bescrewed up ordowntol-adjustthe vertifcal positionof thespindle 2. A set-'screw v13is`provided to secure thenut 1'2 in its `ad-v .,The-portion- V"tion, which is particularly concerned with' theconstruction of the vertical spindle 2 and andis received in acscrew-threaded opening l in the upper arm ofthe supporte and'A secured in'positiofn therein-bymeans of a setscrewfla.V The upper end of the member 16 is closedand is providedwitha conical bear- Ving seat 18, whichl receives the pointedup- 'per end of the spindle 2.

VvA short distance below its upper end,"the

spindle 2V isprovided'- with a notch' 1:9 adjai v'cent to which is a spring contactfinger 20 that extends through a bushing' 21 Vof hard rubber or vother suitable electrical insulating tion 23 of Yinsulating :material which is` screwed into a suitable projection 2 4; Lformed onthe Vsideof the bearing member 1G;l A

lead wire25 lis connected tothe binding post V22 and extends arounda pin26 ,on the vert-i.- cal hangerft and thence .upv to theY .usual 'materialandis'securedto abinding post 2 2V f that is provided with a scre'wlthreadedporrecording instrument. The notch 19 may be illed with insulating material or may be left open as desired. Y Y l The diameter of the opening 15 in the member 1G is but slightly larger than the diameter of the spindle 2. Similarly, the diameter of the opening 9 in the lower end of the spindle is but slightly larger'than the diameter of the bearing pin 11. Annular Ycapillary passages 27 are thus provided bekeep theV water from rising high enough to reach the bearings.

F ig. 4L shows a modified form of spindle construction in which the tubular bearing member 16j, 'instead of having its internal bore of uniform diameter, is' bored out as shown at 30 for some distance from its lower end. The bottom of the opening 30 may be nearly closed, as by meansof a ring 31, or this ring may be omitted. The lower end of the spindle may also, if desired, be provided with a similar enlarged opening 32 which may be nearly closed by means of a ring 33.

The function of the enlarged openings 30 and 32 is to enclose a larger volume of air than is admittedby the capillary space 2f( shown at the upper Vend oi the spindle. This air is compressedby the water into the annular space 27 and prevents the water, with the grit it carries, from running up to the contact spring nger 20. The frictionV between this spring and the spindle vwill then be a constant quantity and there' will be no grit to wear off the end of the spring 20. This construction keeps the water away from the bearing point 18 and the spring 20 when the instrument is immersed in lwater up to 100 feet or more in depth. 50 o stream or other body of fluid to be Ineas-- ured. The vanes 5 and the weight 7 cause the meter to assume an upright position, with the spindle end upstream. The flowing water acts through the cups 3 to rotate the spindle 2 and the rotations 'of the spindle are counted by the making and breaking of the electric circuit between the Contact member 2O and th'e notched portion 19 of the spindle. By reason ofthe construction described above, the water, with the grit which it usually contains, cannot reach the bearings of the spindle and inloosening the set-screw 13 and turning the nut 12, which acts to move the bearing pin 11, and with it the spindle 2. This adjustment should besuch that the upper end of the spindle nearly touches the bearing seat 18 but without binding the spindle.

Il? it is desired to suspend the meter from a rigid support instead 'of `from` a rope or other iexible suspension, the'lianger 6 may be removed and replacedby :i iat rod long enough to yreach to the surface of the body of water, theV iiow of vwhich is to be meas'-4 ured. In this case, the rod should be ci? the same size and shape in cross section as the hanger 6, in order to present the same 're`- sistance to the current flow as the hanger This is necessary in order that theV rat'- ing of the meter shall be the Vsame whether the instrument be suspendedl from a rope-or Jfrom a rod.

ln previousV meters vot this general type, the spindle rises in the meter frame', through bei-ngV forced against` thev conical point of the lower bearingrpin bythe pressure of the movingY water against the wheel cups". This causes the inner surface of the' lower spindle'tube to rest against the side ofl the bearing pin, thereby greatly increasing' the friction in the bearing and so causing the meter toread incorrectly.- In my improved construction such movement ofthe spindle is prevented by the` upper bearing seat 18, and theA friction in the bearing is kept small and constant.

That I claim is:

1. A current meter comprising avertical spindle that is rotatably supportedl by two inverted-cup bearings. Y' Y 2.'A current meter comprising` va vertical spindle that is rotatably supported by two inverted-cup bearings, and means for preventing access of liquid to the said bea-rings.

3. A current meter comprising a vertical vspindle having a ypointed upper end', an annular bearing member enclosing` the said upper end of the spindle, the said annular member having an 'internal diameter only slightly larger than the diameter of the said spindle and having its upper end closed and provided with a bearing recess adapted to recei've the said pointed upper end of the said spindle.

4. A current meter comprising afvertical spindle havinga pointed upper end and having in its lower end an axial opening, a bearing pin received in the said opening, and an annular bearing member enclosing the Vupper end of the 'said spindle, the said annular member having an internal diam-k yros Y said Spindle below the said-bearing and haveter only slightly larger than'the diameter of the said spindle andV having its upper end closed and provided with `a bearing recess adapted to. receive the upper end of thevr said spindle. l Y 1 5. A current meterfcomprisinga vertical spindle having a bearing'at itsv upper yend, and an annular lmember* Vsurrounding the vingv a restricted diameter adjacent to the lsaid bearing and an enlarged diameter below the said restricted portion.

-- k6. A current meter :comprising a vertical spindle having a pointed upper end and having in itslower end an axial opening,

; receive theupper end of theysaid spindle,

the saidannular member alsohaving a"por 'i tion `of enlarged diameter below Vthe *said bearing. Y 'e K u 1 Z7. A current meter comprising a rotatable vertical spindle having a pointed upper opening provided with a conical bearing -end and having in its lower endianA axial lseat, a vertically adjustable bearing pin re-f-'f- Vceived in the said opening 'and `provided with a pointed end received inthe saidb'earing seat, and'an'annular bearing member ,y 35

enclosing the upper end of the said spindle', thesaid annular member having an internal diameter only .slightly largertlian the diameter of the said -spindle and havingvits npr per end closed and provided with a conicaly bearing seat for receiving the pointed upper end of the said spindle. v e

In testimony whereof, I, the said VIL- LIAM G. PRICE, have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM armen', 

